“I didn’t picture you as a station wagon person,” said Frederica.
It was a really beaten up station wagon. Even in the dark, she could see that much.
“I’m not. It’s a loaner,” said Scott, as he unlocked her car door for her. “My car is in the shop.”
“Oh, I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
“Just a paint job,” said Scott, scowling. Then, much lower, he muttered, “Stupid cranes.”
Frederica certainly meant to stay awake and be a scintillating conversationalist, maybe ask what cranes had to do with his car being repainted. What actually happened, though, was that she fell asleep about three minutes after Scott pulled out of his parking place.
Frederica half woke only once, when a pair of strong arms lifted her out of the car and she fell against a strong chest.
“Scott?”
“Shhhh, go back to sleep, babe. I’ve got you.”
“M’kay,” sighed Frederica, and she snuggled closer against his warm chest. “Night.”
“Night, babe.”
If anything else happened that night, Frederica didn’t even dream about it.
Chapter 07 – Scott
The sound of typing invaded Scott’s dreams, sending them a bit ragged around the edges. Frowning, Scott rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow. The typing stopped for awhile, and he drowsed, but when it started up again, Scott finally accepted the fact that he was going to wake up. Opening his eyes, he blinked against the morning light filtering in around the edge of the heavy curtains.
Sitting at the small desk wedged between the bureau on which the television stood and the corner of the room, Frederica was typing away on her laptop. She was sitting at a slight angle to Scott, her mussed hair loose around her shoulders and her expression intent. In her tight little t-shirt and pajama shorts, Frederica looked particularly cute at what was no doubt some ungodly hour.
The sight of her warmed his heart.
We haven’t known each other very long yet, but I think I might be falling in love with you, thought Scott to an oblivious Frederica.
Scott had never been one to be indecisive when it came to the important things in life. When he had decided to join the army, Scott had packed a shaving kit and gone to the recruiter’s office that same morning. He had expecting to take the ASVAB and be on his way to basic training that same day. It had been a terrible disappointment to him when he had discovered that the process took longer than that, even when the person going through it was really, totally, one hundred percent certain that this was what they wanted to do with the next few years of their life.
It was the only little things – like the exact amount of yellow curry to add to his coconut curry dish or what color too paint his house – that Scott wasted time dithering over.
Love – and marriage – weren’t little things. And the way that he felt about Frederica wasn’t a little thing either. It felt right. She felt right in his bed, his house, his life.
He must have done something to draw her attention, because Frederica suddenly turned to look at him. She smiled, her whole face lighting up for him, and Scott’s heart fluttered in his chest. Instinctively, he smiled back at her.
“Morning,” Scott croaked. He sat up in bed. “What time is it?”
“Ten in the morning,” said Frederica. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“I should get up anyway, if we’re going to do something today,” said Scott, only realizing after he had said it that she might have other plans for the day – other plans with other people.
Realizing it made him want to scowl. They had only just met, but he found that he didn’t want Frederica going off without him, particularly if those other people that she was going off with were unmarried and male.
But at his words, Frederica’s usually serious expression relaxed into another smile, soothing Scott’s ruffled feelings.
“Don’t you have to work today?”
“Nope, I have today off,” said Scott. “But you look like you’re working.”
“I’m just answering a few e-mails,” said Frederica. “I have to work tomorrow afternoon and on Saturday though.”
“I have work then too,” said Scott. “But maybe we can do something together on Sunday?”
“Sure!” said Frederica, looking relieved. “I’ve got work in Tallahassee on Monday though.”
“Oh,” said Scott, disappointed.
One of the first things that Frederica had ever told him about herself was that her life was in Tallahassee. She had told him upfront that she would only be in town for a scant few days, but at the time Scott hadn’t truly appreciated how short an amount of time that was… or how far away her life was from his.
He didn’t want her to go yet.
Or maybe ever, realized Scott, feeling surprised. He wasn’t careless with his heart, but already he was… attached to Frederica. There were feelings, ones that made Scott’s chest tight at the thought of maybe never seeing her again.
Scott wondered how long two people had to know each other before one proposed to the other, especially when that other was someone as careful, exact, and logical as Frederica.
“But maybe I could come back next weekend?” offered Frederica.
The tightness in Scott’s chest immediately eased.
“I’d like that,” he said softly, and Frederica softened too – or so it seemed to Scott. More briskly, Scott said, “Now! What should we do today?”
“Rescue my rental car,” said Frederica promptly.
“Aside from rescuing your car, I mean,” he said, and Frederica’s expression faltered.
“I don’t know. I considered drawing up an itinerary before I came down here, but I was feeling restless, so I… didn’t. I don’t have any actual plans for the next couple of days,” admitted Frederica, sounding as if she was confessing to some great and terrible failing on her part.
Scott grinned. “In that case, I have a few ideas…”
Flying by the seat of his pants was practically his specialty.
Chapter 08 – Frederica
Scott took her to the beach. Luckily, Brittany had prepared her for that.
When Scott saw Frederica in her new swimsuit, his eyes first widened then narrowed and darkened. His licked his upper lip.
Looking at him, Frederica felt ridiculously happy. When he looked at her like that, she felt pretty and floaty and sexy.
Thank you, Brittany, thought Frederica, making a mental note to send a thank you card and something nice to her cousin. Holding up a bottle of sunblock, she said, “Would you mild?”
Scott’s grin was downright wolfish.
“Sure thing, babe,” he said, and at the term of endearment, Frederica felt a flush of embarrassed pleasure.
No one had ever called her a babe before, and if asked, she would have said that she wasn’t the sort of woman that men thought of like that. But Scott had seen her naked, and he thought that she was a babe.
Just thinking about it, Frederica had to bite her lip against silly, flustered, and above all happy giggles.
Scott took the bottle of sunblock from her hand, his larger fingertips brushing against hers. He popped its top with one thumb, introducing the scent of coconut to the area around them. With the forefinger of his other hand, he made a turnaround gesture, and Frederica obediently turned her back to him.
Standing there with her back to him, Frederica felt her skin prickle with anticipation. She heard the sound of sunblock being squeezed out of a bottle and felt the skin across her shoulders twitch. Frederica startled at the first touch of Scott’s strong hands against her shoulder blades.
He took his time rubbing layers of sunblock into her skin, his warm fingertips occasionally dipping beneath the straps that held her top in place. Under his touches, Frederica relaxed. Her head drooped forward. A sense of wellbeing and lazy pleasure washed through her, following the lines of sunblock that Scott slowly stroked into her back and arms.
“I thin
k you can do your own face,” said Scott, his voice husky, and after a beat, Frederica nodded sluggishly.
“I can,” she agreed. “Then maybe I can do your back for you?”
Straightening, Frederica fluttered her eyes open in time to see Scott squirt another blob of sunblock into his hand. They each did their own face, and then Frederica watched intently as Scott smoothed sunblock along the planes of his pecs. Absently, Frederica rubbed sunblock into the top of her chest, her heart pounding against the palm of her hand, as she watched Scott’s hands move lower, rubbing sunblock into the ripples of his abs and then up and around to the sides of his ribs.
“See something that you like?” teased Scott, and despite the rush of heat to her face, Frederica grinned.
Her face hot, she quickly bent over to smooth sunblock along the length of her legs. When she straightened, Frederica noticed with pride that this time, it was Scott watching her intently.
Squirting a generous blob of sunblock into her palm, Frederica made that same turnaround gesture back at him. When Scott turned, revealing the planes of his back to her hungry gaze, Frederica’s mouth went dry at the thought of touching all of that smooth, warm skin.
She had touched it last night, of course, and yesterday morning and the before that too, but it still felt pretty amazing that she got to touch him at all – him, her soul mate.
Gently, Frederica pressed her sunblock slicked hands to the center of Scott’s back, and felt his skin twitch against her palms. Then, almost imperceptibly, he leaned back into her touch. Frederica smiled.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Frederica ran her hands first across the wide breadth of his back and then down over the small of his back to teasingly dip her fingertips into the hem of his swimming trunks. Scott leaned harder back into her hands, and giggling, Frederica smoothed her hands up the length of Scott’s back.
Going up on her tiptoes, Frederica ran her hands over his shoulders. Circling her arms loosely around his neck, she planted a quick kiss against the sensitive skin behind Scott’s ear. Scott sucked in a sharp breath, and giggling, Frederica kissed him there again.
“Tease,” he grumbled.
“Yeah?” challenged Frederica, feeling mischievous. Dropping her arms from their place around his neck, she danced a few steps back in the loose, white sand. “What are you going to do about it?”
Scott whirled, his eyes gleaming, and Frederica yelped. She ran for it.
Delighted, she shrieked when a pair of large hands caught her around the waist. Whirling her around, Scott lifted her off of her feet and dumped her over one of the broad shoulders that she had recently been smoothing sunblock across.
Frederica put up a good fight – which mostly entailed giggling and groping Scott’s back and butt – but she still found herself carried off into the sea.
She was still laughing when he pulled her over his shoulder again, the length of her sliding down the length of him. She splashed into the sea, the cool saltwater near her element but not near enough to lend her its strength.
Frederica ended up circled in Scott’s arms, hot where her bare skin pressed up against his and deliciously cool everywhere else. Scott leaned down toward her, his eyes dark and a familiar bulge pressed into her hip. Her nipples achingly hard, her belly tight with anticipation… Frederica splashed him full in the face with cold ocean water.
Scott looked stunned.
Laughing, Frederica slid away from him, not that he let her get far. She shrieked as he pulled her under. His fingers skimmed over her sides, tickling her, and giggly bubbles escaped her parted lips.
Frederica squirmed away and surfaced, snatching a quick breath before the ocean’s friendliest shark pulled her under again, this time for a kiss among the swaying locks of her hair.
They swam and played in the ocean for awhile, then clambered out of the water to dry off and find food. Scott treated her to hot dogs, tapas, and cold drinks from the nearby food trucks, and then they window shopped along the boardwalk for awhile before returning to the beach.
This time, Scott laid out a long surfboard. It was split roughly in half by a diagonal line. Below the diagonal line was a geometric pattern done in orange and black diamonds. Across the pattern shambled an enormous brown bear. Above the diagonal line, the board was white.
Scott helped Frederica up onto the board, giving her tips for balancing on the board and helpfully rearranging her limbs, as necessary. Then, when Frederica had mastered surfing the beach, Scott took her out into the ocean.
Frederica was terrible at surfing on actual, moving waves. It was, however, a lot of fun, especially when Scott clambered up on the board behind her and tried to help her stay on it. It didn’t help as much as Scott might have hoped, and all Frederica was really good at surfing wise was wiping out, but Scott didn’t seem to mind being taken down with her.
Later, they ate dinner at one of his competitor’s restaurants and played in the surf a little more. Frederica even found a few broken shells on the beach to claim as her own little mementos.
They stayed on the beach long enough to watch a staggeringly beautiful sunset before heading back to Scott’s home, not that Frederica got to see much of his place on their way to his shower. She saw a long entry way and glimpsed an open concept living and dining room, before the blur graced with a king sized bed that was his bedroom. Then she was in the master bathroom.
Scott and Frederica were sandy, slightly sunburned, and reeking of sunblock when they finally tumbled into his shower for a little mutual backwashing… among other things. Afterwards, Scott made them hamburgers, while Frederica made the salads, poured glasses of refreshingly cold water for them both, and mixed the drinks.
Frankly, it had been her best day off in a really long time, and Frederica had enjoyed every minute of it – including the minutes that she spent curled up against Scott’s chest as her breathing slowed and she relaxed into a deep, exhausted sleep.
The next morning, Frederica made Scott breakfast.
It wasn’t anything fancy, just French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, but it taxed the entirety of her culinary knowledge. Growing up, her parents had always had a chef, and now that she was on her own, Frederica ate a lot of sandwiches, canned soup, and premade whatevers. This was literally as good as it got when she had to fend for herself.
“Mmmm, breakfast,” rumbled Scott sleepily, as he dragged into the kitchen. “With bacon?”
Sliding his arms around her waist from behind, Scott became a line of warmth all along the length of her back, one that Frederica happily leaned back against. Scott nosed his way through her hair to drop a kiss on the side of her neck.
Under his lips, Frederica shivered. Want, which was never far away when she was near this man, tightened her belly.
Seemingly oblivious to the effect that he was having on her, Scott looked over her shoulder and said, “There it is! I thought I smelled bacon when I woke up.”
Frederica smiled. “Be impressed. This is about the extent of my culinary skills. Well, this and ramen noodles. I’m also super amazing at opening cans.”
“Pre-packed or homemade ramen noodles?” asked Scott, sounding interested.
“Pre-packaged, of course,” laughed Frederica.
“Uck! You’re lucky you have me then.”
“Don’t I know it,” said Frederica fondly, and then had to quickly turn her pieces of bacon over because they were beginning to smoke.
Over breakfast, they made plans to meet up for brunch on Sunday, since they would both be really busy that evening and on Saturday. After breakfast, Scott went back to bed and Frederica returned to her hotel to get ready for her afternoon meeting with her boss.
Her boss, Damian Judith, arrived after lunch. Tall and lanky, Damian was roughly forty with a full head of dark hair, stormy grey eyes, and a passion for do it yourself home improvement. He was also the head of their legal department.
They spent a couple of hours going over project details as well as rehearsin
g answers to questions likely to be asked at the community meeting. When they finished, they parted company – Damian to go call his family, and Frederica to go enjoy the swimming pool.
They met up again for dinner, though.
“You’re looking good,” said Damian after they had finished ordering. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so relaxed. Or so tan.”
Her mind immediately going to Scott, Frederica smiled.
“I suppose I just needed a mini-vacation,” said Frederica demurely.
“Yeah, well, now that you’ve had it, it’s time to buckle down again,” said Damian, only half seriously. “The work is piling up at the office without you.”
Frederica bet it was. She loved her work, and she was very good at it, but no one in their office put in as much unpaid overtime as she did.
But that’s going to have to change now, thought Frederica, her thoughts once again returning to Scott.
She had a soul mate of her very own now, which meant that it was time to make room in her life for someone else. It couldn’t just be her and her goals any longer – even if they were tantalizingly close to being achieved now.
Rather than saying any of this, however, Frederica deftly turned the subject to sports. They weren’t something that she was personally interested in, but Damian seemed to love all the major professional leagues. He had at least one team to cheer for in every season and a couple of fantasy league ones on the side to keep things interesting.
Sports were always a safe topic around Damian, and tonight was no exception. From then on, Damian carried most of the conversation, leaving Frederica to listen with half an ear and nod in all the right places while she daydreamed about Scott.
Scott with his soft hair and wide smiles and easy affection was utterly perfect for her. He made her want to relax and go do things with him. She usually lived her life with one eye on her cell phone, keeping an eye out for important work-related e-mails, but she didn’t when she was with Scott. It was easy to give him her full attention. And he was good at all the skills that she lacked. With Scott around, neither she nor their children would ever starve or forget to have fun.
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